Thread by @OpenTheDebates

The #TwoPartyDuopoly has worked together for decades to erect a mighty #FortressOfProtection. The #2020Election may be an unprecedented opportunity to break right through it.

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This is our original depiction of the duopoly's fortress. The first slide shows the structural barriers (exclusionary debates being one of those). The second slide shows how these concrete barriers are reinforced by various barriers of perception. 2/

It's hard to argue which type of barrier is stronger, & the reality is they are mutually reinforcing. When the media goes along with a phony narrative that the CPD is a legitimate institution working in the public interest, that has a powerful impact on perceptions. 3/

When the American electorate feels the full force of its agency, the barriers of perception are relatively meaningless. People will act according to their strongest desires & principles & won't be easily controlled by phony narratives. 4/

And that's the opportunity. The door to the fortress CAN BE WIDE OPEN. It's in our heads. We just need to change the prevailing mindsets. Of course that's no easy task or it would have been done by now. But it's not as hopeless as many make it out to be. 5/

This fortress is what gives us the #DemocracyGap in the United States -- the wide chasm between what voters want & what we are forced to settle for. Without any outside competition, the #TwoPartyDuopoly can maintain power, oscillating between D & R control w/ awful results.

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Thankfully, there are incredible efforts that are taking on many of these structural barriers. We see @OpenTheDebates as one key piece of that puzzle. @NANReformers is bringing together diverse orgs working on different angles. @BrdgAllianceUS is changing the game too.

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One of the most exciting efforts out there is from @americanacad focused on reinventing American democracy for the 21st century. It's called #OurCommonPurpose, aiming to enact 31 powerful recommendations by the nation's 250th anniversary, July 4, 2026. amacad.org/ourcommonpurpo…
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We're also inspired by some very important work by @PublicAgenda & @USATODAY called #HiddenCommonGround, that showed that underneath all of the divisive rhetoric & hyperpartisan tribal warfare lies a deep yearning for healing & understanding. 9/

More than 9 in 10 Americans said it's important for the U.S. to move beyond this divisiveness.

9 in 10 said it’s important to them the candidate they vote for “actively works toward unifying the country & making it less divisive.”

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65% said they want to move beyond this divisiveness by making it easier for third party & independent candidates to run for office.

That's 2 out of 3 Americans that want to #OpenThePoliticalSystem to #MoreVoicesBetterChoices.

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Of course, this is in full alignment with what we already know, that the American electorate deeply values fundamental fairness. Despite the hyperpartisan atmosphere, voters want free & fair elections with more inclusive debates. 12/

So what does the American electorate get when it is asking for #MoreVoicesBetterChoices? It gets the back of the hand from an entrenched #TwoPartyDuopoly that is losing its grip on the the narrative. You don't have to look any further than #JoeRoganDebate for proof. 13/

It gets some more choices, like @Jorgensen4POTUS on the ballot in 50 states & DC. It gets @HowieHawkins on the ballot in 32 states. It gets 9 candidates on the ballot in at least 10 states.

It also gets a media ecosystem completely disinterested in opening the conversation. 14/

It gets a self-proclaimed Commission on Presidential @Debates, created by the 2 parties, unabashedly thwarting the unambiguous will of the American electorate while claiming to serve that same American electorate, with no one holding them to account. 15/

And here's the thing: debates are an incredibly powerful leverage point for all of us to focus on.

In addition to being one of the most important forums for voters to learn about their choices, debates set the larger narrative of campaigns & elections. 16/

When the #TwoPartyDuopoly can get away with shutting out independent competition from debates, it can get away with shutting them out of media coverage. It can get away with ignoring issues of bipartisan agreement. It can get away w/ boiling complex issues down to yes or no. 17/

The gatekeepers always say they're aiding voters by filtering out viable contenders from the distractions, but what they're doing is they're supplanting the role of voters in a democracy. Actively molding viability. Stepping in before voters have a chance to weigh in. 18/

The gatekeepers KNOW they don't have any good defense here. That is why they DESPERATELY intervene in countless ways to keep outside voices as far away from their debate venues as possible. Threatening @RalphNader with arrest. Locking @DrJillStein to a chair for 8 hours. 19/

When @GovJVentura was polling at 10% in September 1998 for #MNgov, 3 debate performances catapulted him to 27%. 5 more got him a victory, with 37% of the vote (#RankedChoiceVoting would have been nice, too, to ensure majority support). 20/

When Ross Perot was polling at 10% in September 1992, 3 debate performances boosted him to nearly 19% of the popular vote -- a staggering number considering all of the structural advantages of the duopoly. More importantly, he changed the conversation & policy moving forward. 21/

Now voters have 4 choices on enough ballots to win this election. There is simply no principled reason to deny voters an opportunity to learn about ALL FOUR OF THEM. In a democracy, that is what we would get. 22/

Instead, we get the co-chairs of the duopoly's CPD blabbering on about 1000s of candidates running for president & decrying the lack of K-12 civics education for our predicament: 23/

Asked directly why we shouldn't hear from all 4 ballot-qualified candidates, Frank Fahrenkopf praised @LPNational & @GreenPartyUS for doing the work to get ballot status in a byzantine maze, then added they need enough groundswell to make it clear they have a shot at winning. 24/

If a debate institution was truly serving the American electorate, they would listen to the crystal clear desires of the American electorate. They wouldn't hide behind pathetic arguments like these. They would create a structure of inclusive debates that winnowed over time. 25/

But since @Debates is losing control of the narrative, with @realDonaldTrump skipping out on a signed Memorandum of Understanding, & @joerogan putting forward the idea of an exciting alternative, & @FreeandEqual announcing their October 8th debate, there's an opening here. 26/

There's a big fat opening for some media institutions with guts & truly nonpartisan nonprofits & other public interest organizations to come together to put forward an alternative that DOES serve the American electorate. 27/

We can #DemocratizeTheDebates by giving the American electorate a voice, a say, in creating & designing the various components of meaningful debates. We're not as dumb as the CPD co-chairs make us out to be. We've just been beaten down by the likes of the CPD. 28/

With an eye towards 2024, we can make the most of #Election2020 & at least insist upon including the 2 third party candidates on enough ballots to win: bit.ly/opendebates 29/

By including their voices we fundamentally change the nature of the conversation. We prevent the oversimplification of complex issues into false binary choices. We include voices for real electoral reform. We demonstrate that respectful & constructive issue debate is possible 30/

With so much talk about democracy on the line in this election, this is our chance to show what democracy should actually look like. When 76% of voters want #OpenDebates, in a democracy they would have it. 31/

This is where our sense of agency comes in. This is where we find a way to fight for this fundamental concept of fairness that so many Americans hold dear. If enough people take a stand ahead of the 1st debate in Cleveland, Sep. 29 at @cwru @ClevelandClinic, it all changes.

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Sure, it's a question of fairness to candidates like @Jorgensen4POTUS & @HowieHawkins. They're putting their lives on hold to fight hard for their values & visions. But more importantly, it's a question of fairness to VOTERS (& would-be voters). 33/

Voters are screaming out for #MoreVoicesBetterChoices.

But we're being denied this basic opportunity to hear from our *actual* ballot choices with the ballot placement to win.

This isn't just unfair. This isn't just anti-democratic. This is #TwoPartyTyranny. 34/

It is time to build this "groundswell" enough for Frank Fahrenkopf to hear it loud and clear.

Sign our petition at bit.ly/opendebates
Get involved: openthedebates.org/get-involved
Fuel the fight: openthedebates.org/donate
Trend #OpenTheDebates & #LetThemDebate & #LetHerSpeak

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By breaking into the debates, we break into the conversation. We break through the powerful perceptive barriers to dismantling the #TwoPartyDuopoly. We start to dismantle the structural barriers. And we include voices who advocate other structural changes that we need. 36/

Even if we don't break into the CPD debates, we have opportunities to make the @FreeandEqual & @joerogan debates, & possibly other alternatives, just as compelling & engaging & informative, & probably more so, than the CPD debates. 37/

We can step right through the door to the duopoly's #FortressOfProtection. We can hear from candidates who are speaking to our best impulses, our strongest principles, our places of common ground & common cause & common purpose. Enough of the hyperpartisan bullshit. 38/

Let's make 2020 the year we start to move beyond the false binary choice of D vs R, red v blue, left v right, liberal v conservative, my team v yours. We're all @inthistogether0. Our differences have been exploited to serve narrow interests for far too long. 39/

It's time to come together across the political spectrum, across the partisan divides, across the social & economic chasms, and forge a new approach to political discourse & debate that truly reflects & represents & serves #WeThePeople/#AllThePeople.

Let's do this!

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